Apparatus for packaging tow



April 2, 1963 w. H. DAVIS, JR 3,083,437

APPARATUS FOR PACKAGING TOW Filed March 11, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR BY W April 2, 1963 w. H. DAVIS, JR

APPARATUS FOR PACKAGING TOW 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 11, 1960 INVENTOR I alga/i2 ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,083,437- APIARATUS FOR PACKAGING-TOW Walter H. Davis, Jr., Decatur, Ala.,, assignor, by. mesne asszgnments, to Monsanto (Chemical Company, a corporation of Delaware Filed Mar. 11, 1960, Ser. No. 14,315 8 Claims. (Cl. 28-21) This invention relates to apparatus for packaging tow and more particularly to apparatus. for uniformly and evenly packaging tow,.yarn or other; filamentary material into containers for shipment or subsequent processing.

Tow and other continuous filamentary materialis often packaged into containers for dyeing, annealing. or other liquid treating steps, or for shipment of the material to textile mills. and other processors. Itis, highly desirable in so packing yarn to deposit the --yarn.within'the.container in a uniform manner so as to fully utilize. thespacewithin the container, while at thev same time being-sure, to avoid tangling of.the yarn in order to permit-subsequent, smooth and easy withdrawal thereof. Though. various devices have been suggested for accomplishing the. packaging process they have not been completely satisfactory for. a variety of reasons. Inmost cases the devices. suggested have been extremely large, complex. and unwieldy. Moreover, the prior art devices have not beensufficiently flexible to permit filling containers ofvarious shapes and sizes.

The present invention providesa devicev for guiding tow or other filamentary materials-into a container in a continuous, automatic and uniform manner. Means are provided to guide tow in a path traversing'oneaxis of the area of the container while displacingthis pathin a direction normal to that axis in response to the completion of said path. A tubular member which directs the tow into the container is supported at its upper end by a ball and socket joint for movement of the lower end in all directions. The lower end of thetubeor member, positioned just above the container, is reciprocated across the container in one direction. At the end of each stroke of the tubular member, the lower end thereof is displaced laterally of its direction of reciprocation. The tow is thus fed-into the container in such a manner that it is not tangled, twisted or crossed.

It is an object of this invention to provide novel and improved apparatus for packaging tow, yarn or other filamentary material into a container.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an apparatus for feeding tow into a container wherein means are provided'to uniformly deposit the tow throughout the area of the container so as to avoid uneven build-up of tow in any section of the container.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a device for packaging tow into containers which is easily adjustable so as to be suitable for filling containers of a wide variety of shapes and sizes.

It is a further object of this invention to-provide a device for depositing tow within a container in a smooth manner so as to permit subsequent easy withdrawal within t-angling of the tow.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a device for guiding tow into a container. wherein the guiding means are oscillated in a path transverse tothe area of the container, and wherein means are provided for displacing said oscillating means in a direction normal to said path in response to the completion-of each stroke. of said guiding means.

Other. objects and features, of the invention will hecome apparent as the following detailed discription of a preferred embodiment of the invention is read in conjunction with the appended drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side view of one embodiment of the 2. invention shown partially in. section and illustrating a tow container being filled; and

2-, is a plan view of the embodiment. of the inventionillustrated in FIGURE 1 shownpartiallybroken away for purposes. ofillustration.

Referring now to thedrawings, reference. numeral. 1.0 indicates a tubular conduit or tow guide havinga bottom telescoping portion .1-2. The conduitlt) is integral with and depends from ahollow: universal ball-joint 14. which is supported for pivotable movement within a-frame. 16. of the apparatus. The-passage of the-hollow universal joint leads to the passage of the conduit 10.

Above the universal joint there are two feed rollers 18 andZO-which aredriven. in the direotionshown by, the arrows by a motor and. gear reduction drive box 22'. A tow 24 is fed from a sourcelnot shown)v between the rollers Band 20 and thence through the. universaljoint 14 and the tubular conduit: or guidewdll. Attached to the bottom of the telescopingponti'on 12.there are-provideda set of advancing rollers. 26,- only. one being visible in the drawings.- These advancing. rollers are mounted within a roller. bracket 28. and are drivenby a second motor and gear reductiondrive box-30. Reference numeral 32 denotesa. lead. wire. which. connectsv the motor to a. power supply. (notshown). while. reference numeral 34indicates anoutput shaft extending. from the motor and gear reductiondrive. box 30. which. turns a gear 36 mounted onthe. shaft of.the advancing roller 26.

Rigidly attached to the bottom. ofthe. telescoping portion 12 is a shaft 38.hav-ing a-.ball-39 on the. end thereof. The. ball 39. is positioned within. a socket40. to provide a universal joint. ReferencenumeralAZ. denotes a shaft orlinkage extending from the. socket, toacarriage. 44 mounted on adoublethreadtrd shaft 46 of a well-known type.

Reference numera1.48.indicates amotor and gear reduction drive. box which drives, the. shaft 46 through: a gear box 49 cont-ainingbeveledgearsill" and 51; Reference numerals 52 and, 54 indicate stops which may be positioned. at any points. along the shaft 46. The carriage. 44 and the double threaded shaft 46 comprise aconventional reciprocal screw and. nut mechanism. wherein a pawl. (not shown) of a well-known type isprovidedwithinv the carriage for engagingthe. thread-s of the shaft 46 for movement in one direction along the rotating shaft until one of the stops 52 or 54-is contacted, whereupon the pawl is shifted to the reversethreads on the shaft 46 so as to reverse the direction of 'travel'oflthe carriage. In this manner, the reciprocal motion of; the carriage 44 along the shaft 46 is achieved.

Mounted on the carriage 44 is a contact switch 46 having depres-sable pins 5-7" and 58.. The operation. of this switch will be more fully. explained in connection with the operationof theapparatus, the purpose of the switch being to cause a reversal ofdirection of the carriage 44'.

Reference numerals 59and 60 indicate bushings-which support the shaft 46 by means of'brackets- 47 and-which are adapted for axial movement alongtwo parallel double-threaded shafts 62=and 64. Referencenumerals 66 and 68: indicate the bearings within which-the shafts 62. and. 64--are.-rotata 1y mounted; Reference numerals 7.0.-and 72 denote stopswhich befixed; at anypoint along the shafts 62 and 64.. Heretoo, the carriages 58 and 60 are provided with pawls (-not shown) of-a wellknown typeto permitreversal of-traveL-along the shafts 62 and 64. when the carriages. 59' and 60 strike the stops 70 and 72.

Reference numeral 7 4.=indic ates. amotor and gear. reduction drive box which'is coupled to agearbox 75 containing beveled gears 76 and 77. The beveled gear 77 is mounted on a shaft 82 which carries worm gear drives 78 and 80. The worm gear 78 drives a gear 84 (FIGURE 1) which is mounted on the shaft 64 to accomplish rotation of this shaft. Rotation of the shaft 62 is similiarly achieved, though no gear equivalent to gear 84 has been illustrated in the views shown. Reference numeral 86 denotes a bracket support which mounts the shaft 82 and worm gears 78 and 80 on the frame of the machine.

Reference numeral 88 indicates the container positioned below the tubular conduit or guide and its telescoping portion 12 for receiving the tow 24. The container 88 is positioned on a scale 89' of a well-known type (shown diagrammatically in FIGURE 1) having a switch 90 (FIGURE 2) which opens when a predetermined weight of tow is fed into the container. The scale is adjustable so that the switch 90' may be opened at any desired tow weight. This scale is a conventional type.

A start-stop switch is illustrated at the lower left hand corner of FIGURE 2, and is shown connecting with the motor and gear reduction drive boxes 48, 30, 22, and through a time delay mechanism 92 of a well-known type with the motor and gear reduction drive box 74.

In the operation of the embodiment illustrated, the tow 24 is continuously advanced by the feed rollers 18 and 20 through the conduit or guide 10 downward by the advancing rollers 26 into the container 88. As shown, the conduit 10 is supported :by the universal ball joint 14 for universal pivotal movement. The bottom of the telescopic portion 12 is carried on the carriage 44 for movement along the double threaded shaft 46. With all motors except the motor and gear reduction box 74 operating, the shaft 46 will 'be rotated to move the carriage 44 the predetermined distance between the stops 52 and 54. When the carriage reaches one of the stops 52 or 54, the contact switch 56 is actuated to operate the time relay 92 to start the motor and gear reduction drive box 74. Rotation of the shaft 62 and the shaft 64 is then carried out for a predetermined time, for example one second, whereupon the shaft 46 is moved to the left along the shafts 62 and 64 while still rotating. The carriage 44,

:having reversed its direction of travel upon hitting the stop 54, next completes its stroke by hitting the stop 52 whereupon the contact switch 56 again actuates the carriage 44 along the shaft 46, the shaft 46 is carried by the carriages 58 and 60 to the left. Thus, the tow which is continually issuing from the open end of the telescoping section 12 is deposited in substantially parallel rows along the entire width of the container area. When the carriages 58 and 60 reach the stops 70 and 72 which have been positioned at the desired point in relation to the area of the container, these carriages reverse their direction of travel and move toward the right upon the completion of each stroke of the carriage 44 along the shaft 46.

As is apparent from the drawing and particularly from FIGURE 2, the stops 52 and 54 may be positioned in relation to the stops 70 and 72 so as to deposit the tow along any desired area within the container 88. Thus, the disclosed embodiment can be adjusted to fill containers of various sizes.

It is seen that the tow guiding means in the embodiment illustrated reciprocates rapidly along the shaft 46 across the area of the container in one direction while this shaft is moved more slowly in a path normal to the recipsrgcating path by virtue of the worm gear drives 78 an Obviously many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in the light of the above teachings. It is, therefore, to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for packaging tow into a container, comprising asupport carrying a universal joint disposed generally axially above said-container, a tubular conduit conduit depending from said joint for pivotal movement thereabout, means to continuously pass tow through said conduit, means connected to the conduit for continuously reciprocating said conduit in a path transverse to said container, and means responsive to a stroke of said conduit to displace said conduit in a direction normal to said path.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said universal joint has a hollow ball the passage of which is connected to the passage of said tubular conduit.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 including means to reverse the direction of displacement.

4. An apparatus for packaging tow into a container, comprising a frame, a tubular guide pivotally mounted at one end thereof above the container, a first doublethreaded shaft rotatably mounted on the frame, a first carriage mounted on the first double-threaded shaft, first means on the frame for rotating the first shaft to move the first carriage along said shaft, a second doublethreaded shaft mounted on the first carriage normal to the first shaft, a second carriage mounted on the second shaft and connected to said other end of the tubular guide, second means for rotating the second shaft to reciprocate said other end of the guide, and means for actuating said first rotating means in timed relationship with the recip rocations of the guide.

5. An apparatus for packaging tow into a container, comprising a frame, a tubular guide pivotal-1y secured at the upper end thereof to the frame and having the lower end thereof positioned above the container, a first pair of parallel double-threaded shafts mounted on the frame, a pair of first carriages mounted on said first doublethreaded shafts, first means for rotating said first shafts to advance the first carriages therealong, a second doublethreaded shaft mounted on the first carriages and positioned normal to said first shafts, second means for rotating the second shaft to reciprocate the second carriage along said second shaft, a linkage interconnecting the second carriage to the lower end of the guide so that said lower end of the guide is reciprocated with said second carriage, means on the :guide for advancing the tow therethrough, means for actuating the first rotating means for a predetermined time interval in response to each of the strokes of the second carriage, and means for disabling the apparatus when a predetermined amount of tow has been deposited in the container.

6. Apparatus for packaging a tow, comprising a frame, a tubular conduit having on one end thereof a ball, means on the frame engaging the ball to form a ball-joint suspension of the conduit, means connected to the conduit for reciprocating the other end of the conduit in a first direction, and means connected to the conduit for displacing said other end laterally in response to the completion of a stroke of said other end in said first position.

7. An apparatus for packaging a strand, comprising a base, a first threaded shaft rotatably mounted on the base, a carriage mounted on the first shaft for movement therealong as said first shaft is rotated, a second threaded shaft rotatably mounted on the carriage, a second carriage mounted on the second threaded shaft for movement therealong as said second threaded shaft is rotated, an elongated guide connected at one end to the second carriage for directing a strand into a container, said guide having at the other end thereof a ball attached to the base in a ball-joint relationship, means for continuously rotating the second threaded shaft to move the guide in a first direction, and means responsive to the completion of a stroke of travel of said guide in said first direction for rotating the first shaft for a predetermined time inter val to move the guide a predetermined distance.

8. Apparatus for packaging a tow, comprising a frame,

a socket on said frame, a ball mounted in the socket and having an aperture therethrough, a conduit attached at one end to the ball and interconnected with said aperture, a pair of parallel shafts rotatably mounted on the frame, said shafts being reversely threaded, a pair of carriages mounted on the shafts in such a manner that rotation of said shafts moves the carriage, a third shaft rotatably mounted on the carriage, said third shaft being reversely threaded, a third carriage mounted on the third shaft and connected to the other end of the conduit, means for rotating the third shaft continuously to reciprocate said other end of said conduit in a first direction, means connected to said pair of shafts for driving said shafts for a predetermined time interval, and means responsive to completion of a stroke of said conduit for actuating the driving means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

1. AN APPARATUS FOR PACKAGING TOW INTO A CONTAINER, COMPRISING A SUPPORT CARRYING A UNIVERSAL JOINT DISPOSED GENERALLY AXIALLY ABOVE SAID CONTAINER, A TUBULAR CONDUIT CONDUIT DEPENDING FROM SAID JOINT FOR PIVOTAL MOVEMENT THEREABOUT, MEANS TO CONTINUOUSLY PASS TOW THROUGH SAID CONDUIT, MEANS CONNECTED TO THE CONDUIT FOR CONTINUOUSLY RECIPROCATING SAID CONDUIT IN A PATH TRANSVERSE TO SAID CONTAINER, AND MEANS RESPONSIVE TO A STROKE OF SAID CON- 